Tales of New York City and environs ... very close to being true.
These are expanded and/or edited versions of my old "New York That Really Never Was" stories from about 10 years ago.

Monday, March 24, 2008

What Hath God Wrought?

New York in the 1870s was a bustling beehive of activity - much of it
fueled by the communications revolution of the telegraph. Railroad,
shipping, and stock information was pecked out over wires strung like
cobwebs throughout the downtown business area. But it was not all
business! Period photos show that "pirate" lines were also put in up to
the rooming houses in the 20s and over to the fancy digs on lower
5th Avenue. It seems that, for a slight fee, you could telegraph a
billet-doux to a special team of hostesses who would telegraph back
their amorous activities. Phrases like ".. . .-.. ..... . . ... .
-- .. .. .- -. -.- - ." (I EXPOSE MY ANKLE) and ". .. .- .....
- ..- . .. ." (RAPTURE) would "do the trick" for the nerdy "wire-
wankers" of the day. For a higher fee, a boy would be sent up the
pole to cross wires and provide a primitive "chat-line". All this
was swept away with the blizzard of '88, after which the lines were
moved underground and out of the hands of the amateur "hacker".